II. Natural wealth
The new gardeners - prison inmates secure endangered species
To support the Majorcan agriculture, an unusual project teams up the government and the prison of Palma.
The social rehabilitation project pursues the preservation of domestic Balearic plants, which have become
endangered with the introduction of new agricultural techniques and hybrid crops. The primary goal is to
secure these plants and to re-establish them as home-grown products. One way of doing so is to record and
save the genetic data of the plant whose seeds are collected and transferred to the farmers. The social
aspect is the prime interest of the project. A harmonious working habitat trains the inmates and works
to reintegrate them into society. Still, only those inmates with a low flight risk can participate in the program.